Business Renewable Energy Fund

8. Procurement guidelines

Advertising via Sell2Wales

* It is possible for you to advertise on the National Procurement website, https://www.sell2wales.gov.wales  if you are in a situation where you have difficulty in identifying the minimum number of suppliers required and/or would like to vary or attract new suppliers to quote or tender. Advertising via Sell2Wales is best practice, however you may feel that you are better able to identify potential suppliers who could provide the best overall offer.

This facility is available to you free of charge, please visit the Sell2Wales website: https://www.sell2wales.gov.wales  and contact the website helpline on 0800 222 9004 for further information.

 

Seeking Quotations/Tenders

For spend above £5,000 it is essential that the quotes/tenders are sought from appropriate suppliers for the goods, works or services required. In circumstances where it is evident that unsuitable quotes/tenders have been sought, there may be a requirement to advertise via Sell2Wales.

 

Other Funders

If a project involves any other or additional funding streams, these Third-Party Grant Procurement Rules must be followed as a minimum for the total estimated spend of the requirement.

 

Avoiding conflicts of interest

We recognise that it is possible that applicants / developers or persons connected with them (such as relatives, business partners or friends) may wish to tender for a contract being offered by the applicant / developer. This is acceptable, but applicants will need to ensure that the tendering process is undertaken in an open, transparent and fair manner, as outlined above, which does not give one person or company tendering any advantage over another, which arises from the process. Appropriate measures to prevent identify and remedy any conflicts of interest must be carried out.

If an applicant / developer or any person connected with them directly or indirectly, has a financial, economic, political, or other personal interest which might be perceived to compromise their impartiality and independence in the context of the procurement procedure:

• that applicant / developer, or any other person or party with an interest must declare that interest in writing to the Project officer who will offer advice accordingly.

• specifications and evaluation criteria must not be biased or tailored to favour one solution or any one party over another.
• that person or party with an interest should take no part whatsoever in any of the tender evaluation procedures to ensure that the process is fair to all. It is acknowledged that the grant applicant may be required to provide the final approval
• every stage of the procedure must be recorded formally.
• If the contract would normally be subject to a single tender procedure, it is recommended that the sponsor should seek written quotes from at least two other suppliers (i.e. following the procedure set out above for contracts between £5000 and £25,000)

The purpose of these guidelines is to ensure that there is fairness in the spending of public money and that the integrity of the applicant is not compromised.

 

Changes to the specification or contract

If any changes are required to the specification after seeking quotes/tenders which affects the original scope of the requirement, a new procurement exercise may need to be undertaken to ensure that best value for money has been achieved. This may occur where there are unforeseen additions to the original requirement, where tenders are received in excess of the available budget, where funding levels change etc. The grant applicant must inform the Project officer who will offer advice accordingly.

• Failure to observe the relevant procedures outlined above will be considered non-compliant and may lead to a withdrawal of the grant offer and potential claw-back of funding.
• In cases where you are unable to satisfy the requirements of these procedures you must always inform the project manager.
• If you have any queries as to how these procedures should be applied, you should contact the project manager for clarification and further guidance.
  

 

Do:

• ensure that any potential conflicts of interest are declared at the earliest opportunity.
• comply with the appropriate rules
• ensure that the specification is precise and not in excess of the requirements
• ensure that the Evaluation Criteria is directly relevant to the subject of the contract
• complete and retain full records for future reference and audit purposes
• ensure that quotes/ tenders are evaluated on a ‘like for like’ basis
  ensure that you treat suppliers in an open, transparent, and non-discriminatory manner
• allow sufficient time for companies to quote
• ensure the value of the Goods/ Works or Service is estimated accurately at the start of the process to apply the correct procurement process. The aggregated value must be used where applicable

 

Don't:

• skew the specification to eliminate or to discriminate against suppliers i.e. limit the specification to a specific brand
• change the scope of the specification once distributed
• change the evaluation criteria during the process
• give companies too short notice to quote
• enter too much detail verbally with suppliers regarding specific questions. The same information must be provided to all suppliers to ensure the process is fair
• reveal prices to potential suppliers
• breach confidentiality
• open quotes/ tenders in advance of the deadline
• consider submissions received after the deadline

 

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